Court strikes down North Carolina ultrasound abortion law

December 22, 2014 5:58 PM

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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Reuters) - A North Carolina law requiring doctors to perform an ultrasound and describe the displayed images to women seeking abortions constitutes compelled speech that violates the patients' free speech rights, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Monday.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge's decision that struck down the 2011 provision, agreeing that doctors could not be forced to disseminate the state's message discouraging abortion.